Should I visit Bonaire during hurricane season?
September? May? What is the best time of the year to come? A frequent question from new Bonaire visitors regards vacationing on Bonaire in hurricane season. Bonaire, along with Aruba and Curacao are considered to be relatively free from hurricanes during Atlantic hurricane season which runs from May to November. Yes, we will experience some rain and yes, there will be some puddles to walk through, but we snapped this photo in November 2019, during the low (hurricane, rainy) season. Rainy season does not mean that it actually rains all day. Bonaire experiences typically sunny weather with occasional rain in very short bursts during rainy season. In the windier months there may be more cloud cover as well.
Pros of traveling to Bonaire in the low season:
- fewer tourists and crowds, fewer cars on the road than in winter (high season) months
- cheaper plane tickets than in high season
- cheaper car rental and low season prices in most rentals and hotels
- much less worry about bad weather than in other Caribbean destinations
Cons of traveling to Bonaire in the low season:
- this is the warmest time of the year on Bonaire. September is considered the warmest month
- more chance of rain but expect heavy, isolated downpours occasionally combined with a lot of sunshine for most of the day
- more mosquitos (stay in a place with mosquito screens!)
- fewer flight options; many airlines servicing Bonaire cut down the number of flights. For example Delta Airlines offers service from Atlanta on Saturdays and Sundays throughout most of the year but only on Saturdays in the fall months.
- winter months are often considered more ideal because tourists are escaping the harsh winter months back home. This makes winter more desirable for those of us that don’t live in Florida, Texas or the like – but travel costs also go up in the winter along with the crowds
Activities and things to do, restaurants and nightlife are more or less the same in high, medium and low season.
Fun events take place throughout low season to keep things interesting. The annual Bonaire Regatta takes place in October. The annual swim to Klein Bonaire is a fun event for all ages that takes place in early October. There are usually major windsurf races in June, classes for Divers, courses to learn to kite surf, etc. And of course you can dive, snorkel, sail, sunfish, kayak and explore Bonaire 365 days of the year. Should I visit Bonaire during hurricane season. YES absolutely!
